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About AgInnovators

AgInnovatorsis published by NSW Farmers, the peak industry representative body for agriculture in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Launched in mid-2014, AgInnovators has grown to be a leading channel for inspirational communications and educational material about the future of agribusiness. Its content includes news, feature articles, case studies and videos. In addition, the 'projects' section provides detailed resources on topics such as renewable energy, new markets, digital technology and sustainable production, which have been developed through collaborations with our supporters.

This is an exciting and turbulent time for agribusiness. New technologies are being developed and applied at every point in the value chain. At the same time, global thinking is evolving about how we can produce food and fibre more sustainably as the world's population grows towards a projected 9.6 billion by 2050. A linking theme across Aginnovators content is that all branches of the industry, in every nation, share the same resource-constrained world and are striving to minimise inputs of energy, water and agrichemicals.

Many of the innovation challenges in agriculture involve digital technology and disruptive supply chain models. In future, for example, many primary producers in Australia, whether they operate broadacre or high-tech indoor facilities, will be optimising production processes using sensor tech and automation, and supplying digital data along with physical goods to inform compliance, authentication and direct-to-consumer marketing processes. Right-angle benefits of instrumenting farms and supply chains include reduced wastage, better understanding of environmental constraints and improved consumer visibility and choice.

A related frontier is the nexus between food and medicine and research exploring how production practice and upstream processes in the food industry can optimise nutritional values and health outcomes for consumers.

By 2025, the global demand for products in the fresh, wellness and personalised food segments is projected to reach AU$8 trillion per annum (1). Australia is in an ideal position to grow market share and comparative advantage across these segments due our proximity to emerging demand centres in Asia and strong reputation for food quality and safety. In little more than a decade, 54-66% of the world’s middle class will be in the Asia Pacific region (2). Asian consumers are deeply interested in food quality and safety, and are driving rapid growth in demand for trusted fresh foods, wellness products, botanicals and nutraceuticals. Building export capability in these segments is a central challenge for Australian agribusiness and demands new forms of collaboration between producers, processors, logistics companies and advanced technology providers.

In addition to orginal news and educational material, AgInnovators publishes or digests content from many sources, including surveys, reports and scientific studies conducted by peak research bodies and institutions. AgInnovatorsis a not-for-profit initiative and does not carry advertorial content.